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John Fay has been the Reds beat writer for the Enquirer since 2001. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles for the Enquirer: backup Reds writer, UC beat writer, backup Bengals writer and as a general assignment reporter. He is a Cincinnati native and a graduate of Elder High School and the University of Dayton.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Saturday in review

A few thoughts from the Reds clubhouse after Saturday's 8-6 loss in 11 innings against the Indians...

* Indians left fielder David Dellucci wiped out a two-run Reds lead in the eighth inning when he hit a 3-and-2 sinker from relief pitcher Gary Majewski over the left field wall to tie the game.

Majewski had Dellucci 0-and-2 before throwing three consecutive balls that drew objections from some of the 37,935 fans at Great American Ball Park.

“The pitches were close,” Majewski said. “It’s one of those games where you try to pitch to a guy’s strike zone. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Did he ask home plate umpire Bill Miller how close the pitches were?

"I've learned as a player, you ask where they are if you don't have quite a few years under your belt. They get kind of mad at you and, for future reference, you really don't need that."

Reds manager Jerry Narron said: “There were some pitches there that we would’ve loved to have had. Seems like we’ve had some calls go against us that were pretty close pitches. I guess we’ll just have to keep taking a look at it and let somebody else make a decision on how they call the game.”

Reds opponents have now scored 53 runs in the eighth inning this season.

* The Reds stranded two runners in the 10th inning after a splendid catch by Indians right fielder Franklin Gutierrez.

With runners on first and second and two out, shortstop Alex Gonzalez hit a fly ball that drifted into the right field corner. Gutierrez caught the ball just before he slammed into the bullpen fence.

“I hit it good, but I know that guy,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve played with him in Venezuela. I wasn’t surprised he caught the ball…. He can play.”

7 Comments:

First of all I like Majewski. He is young, experienced success, and has a effective live arm. At the very least Maj should have walked Delluci. Sometimes when he doesn't get those called third strikes he has to learn to bear down and make a quality pitch anyways. A good team will make a pitcher pay everytime. And that has been the Tribes M.O. this season. Smack away the good pitches foul, lay off the junk, and wait fot the pitcher to make a mistake.

I am not one to typically critize Narron, but he needs to show some emotion on bad calls. That was ridiculous last night. After the first pitch from Majic that was borderline, he should have gotten himself throw out of the game.

CinciKid, you don't walk someone on purpose in a tie game to put the winning run at 2nd. Unless you're Jerry Narron, who walks guys to put the winning run at 3rd with nobody out. Man that was horrible last year.

I just noticed that Griffey is being held out of today's (Sunday's) game. Please explain to me how this is a wise baseball decision. I heard Narron being interviewed yesterday and he mentioned that he was needing to get Griff a day off. While I'll never understand while professional ballplayers need extra days off, I was ready to accept giving Griff the day off today. That was until... I noticed that the Reds have an off day tomorrow. Please help me understand why its a good move to sit a guy who's homered in three straight games. This team doesn't act like a team that is desperate to win each and every game. I'm definitely a fan for putting Narron on the next paddleboat heading out on the Ohio, and I think it is his job to adjust the attitude of this team. Another example of Narron being the wrong guy. He toys with the lineup way too much, and with a team that is 15 friggin games under .500, it might be time for a change. Bring in someone who at least pretends like winning is important. Our family basketball game yesterday even got bloody, and I would love to see Narron have half the desire to win as some of us.

The Reds should not be batting Conine or Phillips 4th -- they are not built to hit 30 homeruns. Dunn or Hamilton should bat 4th. This team has more talent than it is showing. My regular lineup would be

Conine has never been a major homerun, RBI guy, yet he bats 4th – I don’t understand that. When Freel comes back, he should come back as a utility guy and share time in the infield. Hopper deserves regular playing time -- the teams seems to score more runs with him in the lineup -- & thus he should play in each of the OF spots and be the 4th OF.

For pitching, the Reds have fairly effective starters and an extremely ineffective bullpen. The Reds would probably be close to 500, if not for the implosions in the 7, 8, or 9 inning. Why not consider moving one of the starters to the bullpen? The Reds, though, when they find a good arm, should not overuse it. They burnt out Coffey last year and I fear they will do the same with Weathers this year (their only effective reliever).

Uh, dude who mentioned about Griffey and a day off, he has been doing that since he has been here. When Junior wants a day off, Junior gets his day off! He runs the show around here, where have you been. Plus, he did the exact same last weekend, but had to play, but then he got his day off right after a Reds day off. Wake Up! Enjoy the Circus!

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